Inspiration
by jm1681
Summary: Late one night, Castle joins Kate at the precinct in search of inspiration. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

_So this is my first attempt at a Castle fic. In the midst of a conversation with Heavensdarkrosechild, I had this simple idea for a quickie Castle one-shot. Hopefully I pulled it off alright._

_I don't own Castle, wish I did though._

* * *

Castle came into the precinct late at night holding two grande lattes and the obligatory pastry detective Beckett had come to expect from him. Beckett sat at her desk merely filling out forms and paperwork when she looked up to see Castle quietly approaching her desk.

She checked her watch and looked back at Castle as she asked, "It's 11:30, what are you doing here?"

He placed the cup and pastry directly on top of her paperwork and replied as he took a seat beside her, "I couldn't sleep so I started writing. I couldn't write so I figured I needed inspiration. I think the better question detective Beckett is what are _you_ doing here?"

She looked back to her work as she replied, "Just finishing up a report."

Castle didn't reply, he merely sat back in his chair, crossed his legs and held his coffee to his lips as he indiscreetly watched her. It didn't take long before she felt his eyes on her, or perhaps it was just the fact that he was silent that she knew he was watching her.

"Can I help you Castle?" She asked, the obnoxious tone coming more from her lack of sleep than her distaste for having Castle's eyes on her.

"I need inspiration. Here I am, you just do what you're doing and any moment now, you'll undoubtedly inspire me." Castle replied with a smile.

Kate rolled her eyes at Castle's comment and returned to her paperwork. Had she known how deep his infatuation for her went, she might have realized that the simple gesture of rolling her eyes had begun to turn the wheels in his head. The way she didn't allow herself to be distracted by him, that her eyes nor her concentration ever diverted from her work, even as she sipped her coffee or pecked at her pastry.

For thirty minutes they simply sat in a comfortable silence; Castle in diligent vigilance over his muse as she pecked away at the boxes that littered the paperwork before her. She made a couple of quick and strong strokes with her pen before dropping its point in finality; she was done at long last. She slapped the pen down and retrieved her coffee as she fell onto her seatback.

"All done?" Castle asked.

"Finally. It's funny how going out into the field, putting your life in jeopardy can be so much more enjoyable than filling out a bunch of mindless forms." She closed the folder on her work and continued, "Protocol can be so tiresome."

Castle's eyes widened and he quickly retrieved his notepad and began scribbling, quietly repeating her words to himself as he made notes, "Protocol can be so tiresome."

He looked back at the detective who was simply smiling as she stared at the ceiling. He put the pad away and she addressed him with a smile, "It's been a while since you've quoted me. Was that a good Nikki Heat moment?"

"Oh yes." His eyes narrowed mischievously, "So very 'bad girl' of you."

"So very…" She paused with perfect comic timing, "…how was it you described her again? Stripper detective who's just a little sluttly?"

"Something like that." Castle replied nonchalantly as he sipped his coffee.

Kate smiled slightly and shifted the folder on her desk having completely forgotten that she had closed her pen in the folder. As she placed it in her outbox, the pen slipped from the folder and collided with the floor in between her and Castle. Not thinking anything of it, they both simultaneously reached down to pick up the pen. They'd done this numerous times in the past but for some reason, the stars were in perfect alignment this evening. Rick leaned one way, Kate another and as they leaned down, their lips had just barely grazed one another's and all movement ceased immediately.

They remained in that cautious position for nearly half a minute before some semblance of consciousness dwindled back into their minds. Still, as they attempted to right themselves, neither party made any effort to draw themselves away from the other. They merely straightened themselves out and delicately adjusted their lips adding to the comfort and warmth of their first kiss.

Kate's eyes fluttered beneath their lids as she was lost by the tingling that ran through her veins. Finally after a few moments, Castle would be the one to withdraw his lips from hers.

Startled by the sudden lack of contact, Kate's first post-kiss thought manifested immediately, "What?"

Also startled by what had happened, Castle paused for a moment before replying as though he didn't know what she was talking about, "What?"

They stared at each other sheepishly for a moment before they both darted towards one another. Kate's hands wrapped his face while Castle delicately held her shoulders as their lips met once again, this time with a great deal more passion. Their first kiss had been so accidental, so delicate; their second was almost as quirky their relationship. Constant reassertion of the kiss, mixed with pleasure filled groans as their lips broke every now and again for air.

"Beckett!" A coat-wearing Lanie called as she entered the squad room with her eyes trained on a piece of paper.

The sound of her voice instantly shattered the moment for Castle and Beckett breaking them apart in a hurry.

"What?" Castle replied simultaneously as Beckett replied, "Nothing."

Lanie looked up, her eyes finally locking on Beckett's desk and shortly thereafter on Castle. Ever since he had looked into Kate's mother's murder, Lanie made it a goal of hers to give Castle a hard time every chance she got, "What're you doing here so late Castle?"

His thoughts in complete disarray, he tripped all over his words until Kate answered for him as she took a sip of coffee, "He had writer's block so he came here for some inspiration."

Immediately he was back to earth, "Lack of inspiration is _not_ writer's block."

"So you couldn't think of anything to write?" Kate asked.

"I wasn't _inspired_ to write." Castle defended.

"So by the time you'd left your apartment, how long had you spent staring at your computer?"

Castle smirked slightly while Kate gave him both a smile and a wink. He saw she was merely playing down what had just happened to keep Lanie off their scent and finally took the hint, "Two hours."

"You had writer's block." Kate replied with a nod.

Lanie finally made her way over to Beckett's desk and dropped a few pieces of paper on her blotter, "Here's the write-up for yesterday's John Doe."

She laid out the details of the victim's death while Castle and Kate diligently absorbed her report. After concluding her report, Lanie turned and headed to the door, "Good night you two. Don't do anything I would Katie."

"You think she…" Castle cut Kate off, "No."

After a brief silence, Kate asked, "Should we…"

Again Castle cut her off with urgency in his voice, "Yes please."

They quickly gathered themselves in each other's arms and reveled in each other's lips yet again. Though their eyes were closed, and their lips tethered, they were both clearly smiling beneath the kiss.

Kate would finally be the one to push them apart. Castle observed her as she sat with her eyes closed, struggling to no end to fend off her smile. Eventually detective Beckett won out over Kate's ear-to-ear grin and she quietly addressed Castle, "I think we need to talk."

Castle struggled to maintain his calm. He knew she was right; they absolutely had much to talk about. The thought of being rejected or told that this wouldn't work was far too much for him to bear at this point.

The anticipation of the conversation was killing him by the second. In a last ditch effort to garner a preview of what was to come, Castle broke the silence, "Well, we have all night and I know a 24-hour Sushi joint."

Kate smiled and ever so slightly bit at her lip, his answer written all over her face as he returned the smile.

* * *

_And that's that, short and simple. If you made it this far I hope you enjoyed it :)_


	2. Chapter 2

An hour after Castle and Beckett's lips first met, they sat opposite each other much as they occasionally had any other day. Several half-finished sushi rolls sat on Kate's desk and the silence couldn't have been any more deafening. They were supposed to be talking about what had happened between them but the only sounds they made were those associated with either chewing or digesting raw fish. Their eyes never met for more than a few seconds and the only words they'd spoken to each other since the last of those three surreal kisses were required for ordering their meal.

"Can I…" Castle asked with a gesture, Kate immediately handing him a packet of soy sauce.

A few moments later and Kate asked, "Could you…"

Castle passed a few pieces of ginger onto her plate and for the first time in an hour, their eyes finally met comfortably.

Kate looked down to her roll and was finally ready to begin the conversation, "Castle…"

"Yes?" He asked with a subtle urgency. Castle had absolutely earned every bit of his reputation as an eligible bachelor throughout the years. However, in this instance, with this woman, he was no more collected than a 12 year-old in the midst of a first date conversation.

"I don't know…" He heard her words and immediately cut her off in a panic, "Just, before you say anything let me just say this…"

While he was panicking, Kate was much more collected and calm as Castle paused in preparation of his argument for their relationship.

"I know you're scared…" She cut him off immediately on the defensive, "I'm not scared."

"Sure you are." Kate swallowed the lump in her throat and Castle continued, "You lost someone very close to you. I'm no psychologist but I've read a book or two. When you were with Sorensen, how many hours, days, even weeks did you spend waiting for _that_ phone call?"

Kate's eyes welled slightly as she remembered the feelings Castle spoke of. Every minute away from a loved one spent in constant fear of losing them. Castle saw he had opened her up slightly and decided to go for broke. He was anything but forward, but if there were ever a time to lay his cards out on the table; this was it.

"Sometimes when I find myself in the predicament I did before I came here tonight, all I usually have to do is think about you and I can barely control all of my thoughts." Castle chuckled before continuing, "When I first started following you, I was almost afraid of how completely captivating I found you to be."

Kate smiled slightly, the pain of her memories fading as Castle continued, "There isn't a thing about you I can't write on for days; your eyes, your elusive smile, your unfailing determination, your will to give yourself entirely to the job. If no man has ever expressed to you just how lucky he is to simply be in your company, you've been done a great disservice."

Castle paused for breathe as he waited for Kate to absorb what he had said. He felt immense relief having gotten his feelings for her -feelings he hadn't even locked down until this very evening- off his chest.

Kate blinked back a few tears before replying, "I was going to say…"

Her smile breaking through her expressionless face every now and again, "…I don't think we should tell Ryan and Esposito just yet."

Castle blinked several times as Kate's smile continued to widen; now it would be him who needed a moment to absorb her words.

"So you…" Kate leaned forward and pressed a finger to his lips, "My turn."

As he had done a few moments earlier, Kate collected all of her thoughts before replying.

"You are without a doubt, the biggest pain in the ass I have ever been forced to deal with." Beckett said with a smile and a chuckle.

Castle laugh slightly as Kate continued, "But you can also be invariably sweet. I haven't known you that long Richard Castle, but I feel like I've been with you for years."

The conversation had shifted from that of a discussion as to whether or not what was brewing between them was allowed, almost into an exchange of vows. They had both been hiding from their feelings and while there was indeed a bigger and greater conversation to be had, it would not come tonight. Tonight, regardless of the dangers they'd face in the wake of becoming a couple, they were both well passed the point of no return.

"Kate…" Castle said quietly only to have Beckett delicately press her finger to his lips.

"Let's wait till tomorrow to screw this up." She replied with a warm smile.

* * *

_When I wrote "Inspiration", it was a spur of the moment thing. I had no intention of adding to it or even following it up. However, it seems as though quite a few of my reviewers were interested in me taking it further._

_While I don't have much in this update, hopefully it buys me some time to come up with a definitive direction to take this little lore. _

_A very big thank you to all my reviewers for the kind words. I only hope I can keep this going in a direction everyone will enjoy :)_

_-jm_


	3. Chapter 3

_So I picked up my father-in-law from Mount Sinai this past weekend and it gave me a great idea for a means to continue this story. I wrote this bit in about 45 minutes and I just want to put this out there: as of right now, I have a bunch of ideas but I am completely shooting from the hip. I have no idea where this is going to go, but I've got a case to solve and hopefully I can make it work._

_Thanks a bunch to all of my reviewers, and again, I hope I can continue to make you smile :)_

* * *

Richard Castle walked through the front door of his lavish apartment as though he was floating on air. At the kitchen island, Alexis was fixing herself a bowl of cereal. As her dad approached, she did a quick double-take looking at him and then to the stairs where she had been expecting him to appear.

"Have you been out all night?" She asked inquisitively.

He failed to answer but his smile told her so much, "Were you with detective Beckett?"

He slowly pulled the chair out on the opposite end of the island and she continued to prod, "Is everything alright?"

Castle stared at his daughter, his smile continuing to grow by the second and finally, Alexis hit the jackpot. Her cheeks perked up and a smile appeared on her lips, "You kissed detective Beckett, didn't you?"

"Who kissed detective Beckett?" Martha asked as she descended the stairs into the kitchen.

"Dad." Alexis replied cheerily as she filled her bowl with milk.

Martha didn't seem all that surprised as she replied, "Well it's about time. If you two had kept up that silly charade any longer, pretending neither of you was interested in the other; I just might have had to take matters into my own hands."

"And what exactly would your plan have been mother?" Castle asked, his expression not quite as cheery as it was a few seconds ago, "Lock us in a room together? Torture us?"

Martha retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator as she replied, "Oh please darling this world is far simpler than that; I'd just send her dirty messages from your phone."

On that note, Castle's cell rang. He swiftly unlocked it and raised it to his ear, "Castle."

His smile immediately returned as he replied, "Good morning. I--"

His smile once again faded at being cut off by the caller, "On my way."

"Is everything alright?" Alexis asked.

"A group of joggers found a body in central park this morning," Castle replied as he stood and holstered his phone.

He walked over to Alexis and placed a kiss on her forehead, "You have a good day at school."

He proceeded over to Martha and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "You do whatever it is you do during the day."

As Castle walked back to the door, Alexis called out, "When you come home, you owe me details."

Castle smiled as he replied, "Over ice cream."

"Obviously," Alexis replied with a smile.

-

In central park, Ryan stood over the blood-soaked corpse taking notes while Lanie examined the subject's wounds.

"What do we have?" Beckett asked as she came onto the scene, her thoughts at seeing the body dictated eloquently through a single, simple word, "Whoa."

"According to his license, our vic's name is 'Kevin Riley'; lived on 44th between 5th and 6th avenue." Ryan replied as Kate looked up to Mount Sinai hospital which stood not more than 100 yards in front of them.

"Where's the head?" Beckett asked.

"I had collars search the park. We found some trace blood leading towards Madison, but the trail stops cold there." Ryan replied.

"So they cut off his head and took it with them?" Beckett replied.

"Seems that way," Ryan replied.

"Any witnesses?" Beckett asked as she looked around the scene.

"None that have come forward. We're talking with some of the runners who found the body this morning. None of them have ever seen him before." Ryan replied.

"Have you notified the family?" Beckett asked.

"We're looking into family now. I sent a unit to his apartment, but aside from one very angry dog, they didn't find much." Ryan replied.

"Did I miss any…" Castle's words dropped off and he turned away having just noticed that the body was missing its head, "…whoa!!!"

Kate couldn't help but smile at Castle's reaction. They had agreed that what had begun the night before was to stay private for a while, so naturally, she replied without missing a beat, "Morning Castle."

"A heads up would've been nice," Castle replied doubled over, his hands on his knees for support as he caught his breath.

Kate turned back to the body and commented to Lanie, "I'd ask for the cause of death but it does seem pretty obvious."

"Sure does," Lanie replied, "Unfortunately there's significant damage to bone and tissue at the base of the neck."

Castle finally collected himself and joined the group, "You think someone broke his neck, and _then_ removed the head?"

"I'll need to examine the wound further back at the lab, but my guess is our boy was already dead when his head was removed." Lanie replied.

"How does someone cut off another man's head in central park with no one bearing witness?" Castle asked.

"They don't," Esposito replied as he approached the group, "Just got a call from the Neurosurgery ward across the street. Turns out a patient in recovery saw two men struggling in the park from his window last night."

Upon finishing his report, Esposito commented on Castle's pale face, "You alright Castle?"

Shrugging off Esposito's inquiry altogether, Castle replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a…"

Castle attempted to butch up as he fixed his shirt and coat, "…little tired, that's all."

"Oh alright," Esposito replied, "By the way, you're standing on the guy's scalp."

Castle's face instantly tightened as he cringed. He looked down to find he was doing nothing of the sort and quickly looked back at Esposito less than amused.

"Gotcha," Esposito replied with a smile.

-

Castle and Ryan stood at the window in a patient recovery room overlooking central park while Beckett proceeded with questioning the would-be witness.

"What time did you see the two men arguing Mr. DeSantis?" Beckett asked.

DeSantis was an older man. The skin behind his left ear was covered in tape from the surgery and he was hooked up to multiple bags of medications.

"It was probably about two-thirty in the morning," DeSantis replied.

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing up so late?" Beckett asked politely.

"I'm quite a bit older as I'm sure you can tell. It's become routine for me to sleep through most of the day and with this surgery, night comes and I can't seem to fall asleep," He replied.

"Did you happen to notice what the two individuals were wearing?" Beckett asked.

"Well it was rather dark out, but it looked like one of'em was wearing a white and gray jacket and the other was wearing a red hat and a black jacket." DeSantis replied.

Beckett made a note and continued with her questions, "Your surgery, what was it for?"

"An acoustic neuroma behind my left ear. Doc said my body should take the surgery well enough and that it was better out than in," DeSantis replied, "Listen detective; did something happen between those two men?"

"You didn't see what happened?" Kate asked.

"No, when they showed up I'd already been at the window for about a half-hour. Even with the walker I could barely hold myself up any longer," DeSantis replied.

Kate and Castle's eyes met briefly before Kate stood and folded her notepad. Finally, she addressed the patient one more time, "Thank you for your time Mr. DeSantis. If you remember anything else…" She handed him a card, "…please don't hesitate to call."

"Sure," DeSantis replied as Castle and Ryan joined Kate on her way to the door.

They proceeded out and into the hall to find Esposito just finishing up with a nurse.

"Find anything?" Kate asked.

"Mr. DeSantis' surgeon was one Mrs. Gabrielle Fischer. She's out of town today, but she'll be back tomorrow afternoon," Esposito replied.

"See if you can get a hold of her, maybe get her back early." Kate replied.

"I'm on it," Esposito replied before turning and taking off with Ryan in toe.

"Mr. DeSantis' doctor is out of town today, just a few hours after a man is violently murdered right across the street from her job." Castle stated calmly.

"What's on your mind Castle?" Beckett asked, fully prepared for a typical Castle analysis.

"It just seems very convenient. Last night, two guys are arguing in the park. One gets mad at the other, decides to break his neck undoubtedly killing him and then decides to chop his head off just for good measure," Castle remarked as he and Beckett walked into an elevator and turned to face the doors as they closed.

Now staring at the doors as they waited for the elevator to descend, Castle continued, "Then the killer takes the head with him. Now, if I were writing the story, I'd be asking myself three questions: Is the killer collecting, sending a message--"

Castle's analysis caused a light bulb to click on in Kate's brain and she finished his thought for him, "Or harvesting."

"Exactly," Castle replied.

After a brief moment of silence, Kate eyes narrowed as she turned to Castle and asked, "Is this the strangest relationship you've ever been in?"

Without missing a beat, Castle turned to her and replied, "No."

"Good," Kate replied as the doors opened.

* * *

_I know there wasn't a lot of (if any) Castle/Beckett in this chapter but again, I do have some ideas in store; I just need some time to sort them all out :)_


End file.
